THINGS are only just starting to pick up for Mt Isa spelling yards after a "shocking" hit to business.
Cameron Rains has leased the Mt Isa spelling yards for the past three years and said turnover has been slammed since the live export ban.
"I've been pretty quiet lately," he said.
"I've only been taking 5000 head a month when I'd normally do about 10,000."
Last year, Mr Rains processed 70,000 head, about 70 per cent of which were from the Northern Territory.
Now, he said, everything was bound for southern not northern markets, which was good for business but not the recovery of live export.
"Well, from talking to people, I don't think live export is going to get going to its full potential because cattle are heading south," Mr Rains said.
And flooding southern markets with Australian beef could spell low costs for consumers, but bad cash flow for producers.
The Australian Farm Institute recently told media an oversupply of beef would depress prices.
Mr Rains said pastoralists were enjoying a good season with plenty of grass around, but he held off predictions of what that meant for business or the industry.
He said people were playing the wait-and-see game.
"Everyone's putting it off as long as they can hoping the market reopens. It's hard to pick; no one really knows."
Like most cattle industry experts, Mr Rains criticised the ill-informed Australian public for the dire situation.
"The ban was a knee-jerk reaction.
"I think it's just the southern vote. They saw the (Four Corners) show and there are just too many people down there.
"I hope things can return to full production."